Blood from the East
by whoshallJudgeAngels
Summary: About a year after the Crossing, things are going amiss again. Sapphire is struggling with powerful new emotions for Faro, and trouble approaches coming from around the tip of Africa. A band of cannabalistic Mer is seeking a home in new waters... and they are not willing to change their eating habits... rated T for mild content.
1. Do I Love Him?

**Why the hell am I so nervous at posting this dadcum story? Maybe becuase it has an idea no one has tried before... hmm... well, that's the whole idea of fandom! I think. *ahem* :P  
DISCLAIMER: **_**Ingo**_** is not mine.**

Sapphire's POV~

"Hey, Conor, I'm going down to the cove," I say. My brother turns from making himself a banana sandwich and looks at me in a scrutinizing manner. I squirm impatiently and raise my eyebrows at him, as if to say: "You can't stop me...". Conor sighs and nods. "Just don't swim outside the cove...". I'm out of the door like a cannonball, yelling, "Yes, Mum!", back at him sarcastically. I can just envision his expression.

Scrambling over the rocks, I think I see a figure out at the mouth of the cove. As I climb out farther, I see the person more clearly, and my heart leaps into my throat with some undiscernable new emotion. _I'm going to try sneaking up on him..._

No use. Either I'm too noisy, or Faro's too quick. Or both. Plopping down on the rock next to him, I make a face and say: "You seem to be spending alot of time in the Air lately". Faro raises his eyebrows at me. "And _you_ seem to be coming to the cove alot," he annoyingly imitates my voice. I frown and look out at the sea. He's right, actually. I _have _been coming down here alot. Mostly to escape the fact that Mum and Roger... well, they got engaged last month, and I suppose their getting married soon...

"Interesting...", Faro muses. I start, then glare at him. "I really, _really_ wish that you'd stay OUT of my thoughts!". Smiling impishly, Faro changes the subject: "So what do you think?".

"About...?"

"Your mother and the diver."

"Oh, um... well, I don't really know. I mean, I'm not _mad_ or anything, but...". I notice that Faro's looking at me with the strangest expression. "But you wish things could have happened differently? Way back before you even knew about Ingo?", he supplies. I think for a second. "Well... not exactly. I mean, what's happened, has happened, and I suppose I've learned to accept that... but I do wish that things could stay the same, at least for a _little_ longer...". Faro nods understandingly and takes my hand. I squeeze back, feeling grateful that I have someone to talk to, since Conor seems to be quite content about Roger becoming our stepfather. I, for one, am not ready.

Faro lets go of my hand and shifts himself to dive into the water. Once he comes up again, he just floats, breathing air and looking steadily at me. After a while, he hauls himself back up onto our rock, grinning to himself. "What?", I demand, noticing that he's kind of stealing little sidelong glances at me. Faro just shakes his head, expression now impassive. "No, really...", I attempt to make my face as serious as his and stare at him face-on. He smiles and says: "Well, you just looked so... _glum_... I don't know. It was funny". I roll my eyes and push his arm. Some people sure know how to get on your nerves.

Maelbron's POV~

Fenstral shakes his head and spreads his arms, then speaks to the four men gathered around him. I can't hear what he's saying, but the old Mer man doesn't look happy. Arcvand frowns and gives a small, impatient flick of his tail. Then _he _starts to speak, interrupting Fenstral, and the two start arguing.

There has been a growing sense of discontent lately. Humans have been diving around in the waters that we call our home. Thankfully, they don't see much, but it's still rather dangerous. A small child can easily swim into danger at any time, and put the rest of us Mer at jeapordy. Several have been talking about moving to different, more isolated waters.

Somewhere where we can find fresh meat.

Sapphire's POV~

When I finally get home, it's dusk, and the cool air is cutting through my wet clothes, making me shiver violently. _Can't wait to get inside..._ at least Mum's not home yet; she's working late tonight.

At the door, Sadie greets me... or _jumps_ on me. "Hey, girl! You miss me all day?". Sadie sniffs my clothes. "Is your nose working overtime?". Sadie gives a little dog-sneeze and pads off. Conor shuffles in, his expression denoting that I'm in for an unpleasant experience.

"Did you swim-", Conor begins, but I don't let him finish. "Con, if what you want to know is that I went to Ingo, then yes, I did". There. Might as well get it over with. Conor frowns. "Did you see Faro?", he asks. I throw up my arms in exasperation. "Yes! Yes, yes, and yes! What is this, twenty questions?".

"Just asking..."

"No! You're not _just asking_, you-are-being-paranoid," I punctuate my last four words by jabbing my finger at him. Conor's expression changes. "Take it easy, Saph. You usually don't mind my asking you things...". Groaning, I sink into one of the chairs at the kitchen table. Conor just stands there, looking strange. Then he shrugs and leaves the kitchen. Once I can be sure it's safe, I head towards the bathroom.

It's just as well that Conor doesn't know what's _really_ going on... not only did Faro stop calling me "little sister", but I don't even feel that way anymore.

Do I... do I _love_ him?

**So I'm just going to leave it there for now, and PLEASE let me know how you liked it! I refuse to update until I get three reviews at least. :P so there. Hope it's not too awful... 0.0**


	2. Blood Advancing and Insecurity

**Eeek! I love all you awesome reviewers! SPECIAL thanks to my first: ****.  
Here's the next chapter... by the way, I derived Maelbron's name from the Latin **_**mal (-x,-us)**_**, which basically just means, well **_**bad**_**. Come on, what's not evil about cannabalism? :(  
I know it kind of sucks that I get all these names from Latin instead of Cornish (Mer), but... well, meh. It's just different...  
By the way, the lyrics of the song that starts up in Sapphy's point of view are from "You Don't Know Her Like I Do", by... argh. what's his name. Sorry I forgot the artist... :S. Anyways it's depressing but one of my favorites. I don't know if Sapphire would listen to country music at all, so this is just speculation.  
DISCLAIMER: **_**Sapphy~**_** "How big is Ingo anyways?" **_**Faro~**_** "You must speak to Saldowr. Ingo is as it is..." Anyways it's too big for me to own.**

Maelbron's POV~

It is decided. We will be heading north to better waters. Why not south?, my younger brother asked. I don't know, I said. That's just how it is...

We began our journey today. I've gone a considerable amount of distance both south and east, but never north. It was always said that further towards the top of the world, strange things happened. Our people were sometimes born with human blood... all the better. When things began going wrong, we managed to abduct a human; later we devoured his flesh, as customary. Hah! his eyes were as big as a whale when he saw us, but he would never live to tell the tale of what he saw.

Of course, it was very hard to obtain human meat, as most of their "divers" came with many numbers, and there were often other Air people on "boats" above the surface. They might be able to see us or something if we tried to attack the divers, even though they went far down. No use taking any chances. It was easier to leave.

And that's precisely what we're doing.

Faro's POV~

Okay. I just have to tell someone. This feeling has been setting uneasily inside me for a while, and I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks _something_- not sure what- is going to happen.

"Saldowr?"

"Yes, my son?"

Either he listens to me, or he thinks I'm crazy, which will _probably_ mean I'm wrong. "Do you- do you have a feeling that something is going to happen?".

Saldowr raises his eyebrows. "A foreboding? My son, each one of us has different reasons for why we think something will happen, but it might be _for_ the same reason..."  
_

Sometimes things that people say don't make sense. Why is Saldowr being so... _mysterious_? I mean, there is obviously something going on... but what?

And there are other times that people _do_ things that are a bit... obscured. Actions of which the meaning are not clear. For instance... Sapphire... she- Sometimes I catch her looking at me strangely; and even more often, when I try to open her thoughts, they are closed. Of course, she always tells me: "Stay out of my thoughts, Faro!", and acts completely annoying about it, but she rarely ever used to actually _keep_ me out. The fact that her mental blockades are often accompanied by her strange glances (or non-glances), makes me think that there's something going on that she doesn't want me to know about... something that's never happened before. I, myself, hardly dare to guess what it is.

Most likely I will be wrong.

Sapphire's POV~

_"Hey old friend, thanks for callin'_.  
_It's good to know somebody cares.  
And, yeah, she's gone, but I don't feel like talkin'.  
It would be too much to bear  
to hear somebody say: 'It stops hurtin'..."_

Drat. It's raining, I'm by myself (except for Sadie, of course) because Mum's at work and Conor... well Conor _is _here, but he's asleep. Yes, still asleep at nearly noon. I have never met anyone that can stay in bed for so long. Not that there's anything to do...

_"Or to hear somebody say:  
'She ain't worth it.'  
Cause you don't know her like I do!  
You'll never understand.  
You don't know what we've been through.  
That girl's my best friend!..."_

I start daydreaming, and wonder what it would have been like if I'd never known about Ingo. Strange topic, I know, especially after everything that's happened... _I'd have never found out where Dad went, never have made the Crossing, or known about the Deep; never seen Ervys and all the cold fury towards human blood. _I am deliberaltely depressing myself. _I'd have never met the whale, or Saldowr, or known what it was like to ride dolphins, or surf currents, or- after feeling like the world was upside down- finally feeling at home; a part of things._

I'd have never met Faro.

Kind of hard to think of me a few years back... not knowing that what I thought was a fairy tale was actually real.

And more immediate than I ever imagined.

_"And there's no way you're gonna help me,  
She's the only one who cared.  
No, you don't know how much I've got to lose.  
You don't know her like I do..."_

**Due to the ginormous opening note, I will make it breif: next chapter will consist mostly of a cannibal's [you-know-who's] point of view, and Faro will be omitted from the chapter as well *sniff*. I'll make up for that, of course :D.  
Oh, and please review! Since I'm not updating until I get... **_**three **_**more reviews.**

**P.S. Sapphy's POV was kind of to just make the chapter decently lengthy... well, I'm bummed out from swimming lessons and my summer Algebra-review thing :S.**


	3. The Foreboding Was True

**[struts in, stops, and slowly looks around. Sees twenty guns surrounding her, and hears them all cock simultaneously. Slowly puts her hands up... "I DIDNT DO IT!"] XD sorry I took so long, you guys. Please don't shoot me! hahaha. If you do, just keep in mind there won't be any more updates.  
Let's see... I think that I'm going to thank ALL of my awesome reviewers [luv y'all!], and NEXT time, I won't update until I get **_**five**_** more reviews. :P [author on strike] Am I being a **_**persona nongrata**_**? :DDDD  
Here's our dear meat-eater:**

Maelbron's POV~

There is less unrest now that we are in more northern-reaching waters, and the young ones are all fed. Us older children had to go without taking part in the meal, as did the adults, but my younger brother Cannarat got his full share of the Mer man we found... well, not him and me. I was swimming behind, and didn't even help to kill him. It was almost a shame... but I guess we have to eat.

So far the older man is the only other one of our people that we have seen. There have been rumors that Arcvand and some others have been plotting to slay and feast on Fenstral if we don't meet others soon, though it is not customary to eat those Mer who are like us. When I heard this, I became promptly sick of _both _Arcvand and Fenstral battling for a leadership that they possessed no right to have... unless they broke all of the laws that governed us...

I have swum off by myself, tiring of looking after Cannarat as we keep on the journey. _Nine is old enough to not get into major trouble..._

I see a shadow flicker in the corner of my eye, too small for a shark or dolphin, too large for a fish. I turn towards a patch of weed, and half-hidden behind it is a girl about my age, perhaps slightly younger. _You can tell she's not really hiding... what luck... _

The girl smiles and raises a hand in greeting, nonetheless approaching me cautiously. She floats still for a minute, thinking to speak, I suppose, while I gather myself for the strike. _This is your chance to obtain a meal for your people..._

Powering myself fowards, I make a swift grab for the girl's neck, to strangle her. _Look down... that way you don't have to see her face..._ but... she's too quick, because the girl somehow evades my grasp and turns on her tail, going swiftly through the water. _Never let them get away... she'll alert everyone she can... _

Her flesh, I must admit, looked very tender.

Sapphire's POV~

Conor sits up straight and frowns towards the door. I was just lolloping around, grateful that it was the start of the summer holiday, and _he_ was acting weird all morning. Now it is getting quite troubling. "What is it Con? Is someone at the door?" My brother sighs and leans back. "No... hey, listen Saph. Haven't you gotten the feeling that something, oh, I don't know... that something is happening?", he asks. Okay... "There's _always _something happening, Conor. I mean, five people are born every second, and three die. It's a busy world". Conor shoots me a dirty look, but says nothing else.

Mum saunters into the living room, whistling. She stops when she sees us. "Are you guys alright?", she questions us, "You've been acting bummed out lately. Why don't you get out of the house? It's beautiful outside... Roger says it's going to be a dry summer".

"I wasn't aware that Roger could predict the weather", I mouth off. For some reason, I am feeling very irritable right now.

"Don't back-answer me, Sapphire. And for your information, some of us actually watch worthwhile programs on TV... like the weather reports", Mum replies tartly. I just grumble, cross my arms, and bury my back in the sofa. Mum sighs and moves on to the kitchen. Conor shakes his head at me and sighs. I raise my eyebrows and sigh back.

It would be rather nice if 'something' happened.  
_

That night, I have a improbably weird dream. I see a Mer girl being... eaten? There's a young man tearing at her flesh; she fights hard, smacking at him with her tail as blood- so much blood- pours from her arms and neck. I wake up shuddering all over. _What a horrid idea..._

Stranger still, before I woke up, I heard a voice through the girl's death screams, saying: _Our own kind, foreigners still, are setting upon us. Be careful, Sapphire. Please... please... I do not yet know what we can do. I don't think anyone does. Except maybe-_

When I woke up, I realized the voice was Faro's.

_Oh, no... nonono..._

_ Don't be stupid, Sapphire. It was just a crazy dream._

Or was it?

**Aaaaa! What was this chapter, anyways? pft.  
Ach, well. Hoped you liked this shorty and I'll make the next one longer (with Faro!).  
Please review!**


	4. The Dream

**Phew! Last chapter was kinda hard to write, considering Faro's absence XD.  
Special thanks to all my anonymous reviewers, Trapped In Narnia, Hooligonian, and AslanPrincess.  
DISCLAMER: I don't own **_**Ingo**_**, or any of the characters in this fanficton, except Maelbron and Company 'cause I made them up. And I have no idea if Faro has a cousin named Thurina.**

Faro's POV~

_Sapphire... please, Sapphire... stay away... please..._

She died. Just like that. My cousin Thurina was... murdered. Even the dolphin who witnessed the scene was too late to save her; he was only there in time to keep her body from being devoured.

It was shocking news. Saldowr himself did not seem to know what to do. _Mer have never before eaten their own kind... never before_. Spilling each others' blood is practically forbidden... much less to eat each others' flesh. A shudder runs through me as I think about my dead cousin, as what might be in store.

I have other worries as well: if these... these- I don't know what to call them. If these# *?! _cannibalistic murderers_ would kill other Mer- their own kind- there's no telling what they might do to a human being. An Air person.

What would they do if one found Sapphire?  
_

I wanted to see her again, desperately. I wanted to laugh with her, catch a current with her by my side; to feel the clasp of her thin, strong hands.

But more than anything, I wanted her to be safe. We'd been through so many dangers together; time and time again Sapphire has come close to dying... and each time I have been prepared to fight for her until I, too, died. But this time, I don't want her to come into harms way at all- not if I can help it.

All night, I try so hard to reach her mind that when I finally do, every fiber of my brain feels worn out.

_Our own kind, foreigners still, are setting upon us. Be careful, Sapphire. Please... please... I do not yet know what we can do. I don't think anyone does. Except maybe Saldowr... still._

_ Sapphire, please hear me... there is danger here. Stay away._

_ Stay safe, kerensa._

Sapphire's POV~

_It's a dream. It's not a dream. It's a stupid, crazy, unrealistic dream._

_ IT'S NOT!_

The two sides of me fight with each other as I bike along the road to St. Pirans, on my way to grab Conor back from Rainbow's house, as we're due at Jack's for Sunday dinner... his mum made a last-minute invitation.

I didn't tell my brother about the dream; he'd probably just worry more, especially since I've been going down to the cove like heck lately. And besides, it all might have been my often overreactive imagination... like when I was little and thought faeries were living under a bush in our garden.  
_

When I get to Rainbow's, Rainbow answers the door with a mischevious look on her face. "What?", I demand before even greeting her. She smiles enigmatically and steps aside for Conor to exit. We both say goodbye (and I didn't even say hello...) and pedal back off to Senara. Conor had the good sense to ride his bike, at least.

I make a sudden decision to tell him about the dream. I get this weird sensation that it has something to do with the "feeling" he had yesterday. _You must really be taking stupid pills..._

"Hey, Con?", I ask, riding up beside him. It takes him a moment to acknowledge what I said. "Hhmmm?", he replies distractedly, a lazy grin playing across his face. I sigh. Now is obviously not the correct time for intense analyzation (though I can't _begin_ to imagine _why_...).

"Never mind."

I should tell myself that, too.  
_

Next day, I decide to go down to the cove, dream or no dream. I swear I have become a _philosipher_ with this deal. Time to find out for myself. And how could Faro reach my thoughts in the Air, anyways?

When I get down there, I note that there is no familiar, dark-haired figure perched on the outer rocks. _Warning sign... oh, don't be an eejit. I'm sure Faro has things to do other than sit around in the cove._ I've come down here loads of times that he isn't present.

I slip into Ingo as easily as... well, I guess as easily as a fish would, if I must make reference to a trite expression. The salty water flows past me, through me; I feel myself becoming a part of Ingo, as I have always longed to be. As I now am. _Myrgh kerensa..._

Enough daydreaming. I stretch out my arms, and with a strong kick begin swimming. I feel as if I should find Faro, but have no idea where he is, as our mental connection is dissolved at the moment.

It turns out I don't _have_ to find him.

"Sapphire!"

I turn. Faro's swimming fast towards me from the open water. As he gets closer, I see that the look on his face in one of disbelief, annoyance, and perhaps a bit of fear? "Hey, Faro", I say as casually as I can manage, mostly to quench the well of doubt within me. _Maybe the dream wasn't as crazy as I thought... but how could Mer do something so... incriminating? So opposed in all the laws that govern them?_

Faro grabs my head in both hands and stares hard at me. After several prolonged moments, his hands move down to my shoulders and he gives me a gentle shake. "What are you doing here? I thought I had reached you..."

"You- you did, Faro. I just didn't know if it was my imagination... it seemed too crazy to be _real_", I say nervously. Faro frowns and bows his head. When he looks up, his expression is filled with anger and horror. "It's against all our laws. Even Saldowr does not know where these people came from- if they even deserve to be called people", he spits out harshly, "But he did say that they are looking for more than devouring the flesh of their brothers and sisters... Saldowr says they want strife amongst the Mer."

"Like Ervys", I can't help commenting as I suppress a shudder. _How can it be?_ Faro nods sadly and drops his hands from my shoulders. I don't try to break into his thoughts, as I am quite sure what's running through his mind now.

More sure than I ever have been.

**That's all for now! Please review, and let me know how you like the story development so far: the cannibalism, Faro/Sapphire (which I suck at, as a matter of fact) :S, and Conor's complete unneccessary-ness in this chapter haha.  
~ xoxo whoshallJudgeAngels**


	5. Like Ninepins

**Aahhh! Thanks to all the reviewers! I am so happy at the response I am getting... thanks to all of you! and special thanks to Ocean-runner! And by the way... no more updates until I get five more reviews XD  
DISCLAIMER: the world of Ingo = (hopefully) real + awesome + not mine.**

Maelbron's POV~

The dolphin came in time to salvage the bloody bones with most of the flesh left on them of the young girl. The dolphin beat at us furiously with his tail, driving us back. _Now he will tell all the other Mer here in these waters... not good at all._

Arcvand, Fenstral and some others commenced to argue again, debating whether or not we should keep going North. My mother said that we _should _slay them, to be rid of them once and for all. In the end, it was agreed that we should at least move farther west... away from this place. But first, we had to gather strength. Many little ones would not eat the sea plants we have been foraging, no matter what their mothers did. Cannarat was at first one of the children on strike, but when the pains of hunger started to bother him, he ate. The seaweed taste is quite unpleasant, but it's much better than starving.

We must try harder, but other Mer are much harder to catch than clumsy Air people.

Sapphire's POV~

Faro sighs tiredly, turning his back to me. For a few seconds, he is still, staring off into the distance. I think he sees something, and strain fowards, peering into the aquamarine distance. I don't hear anything...

Turning back to me, Faro gives me a puzzled look. I shrug and ask him what I have been dreading the answer to: "But what is to be done?"

"No one knows... this is a dangerous enemy, Sapphire. Our own kind; it is not as easy to fight them off, as they roam Ingo as freely as the rest of us do. I... I can't begin to think how, unless we wage war against them... but that would not heal Ingo at all. Her laws will only be broken further. Perhaps... I don't know."

I've never seen Faro like this. He's always been so full of fighting spirit; always seemed to have a plan for what should be done. But this seems to have gone right to his heart like a knife, twisting out all hope. His expression is filled with hopeless pain. My own heart is aching, and every fiber of my body is hating the wrong in this, but I can't help wanting to find a solution, one that will help these cannibals as well as the rest of the Mer.

I was wrong to begin hoping that Ingo would heal now that the Crossing was done and relations between the sea and Earth were better and slowly strengthening. I never realized that there were problems from the _inside_, too. But all I had to do was take one look at Faro's face, and feel the unsteady beating of my own heart to know that this was true: problems didn't only come in the form of Ervys, even if the problem is like a double-edged sword._ But he did say that they are looking for more than devouring the flesh of their brothers and sisters... Saldowr says they want strife amongst the Mer..._ That's what Faro said was happening. One problem, however, is more immediate than the other; what can be done-

My thoughts are interrupted by Faro, who shakes himself as if he's waking up out of a dream. He takes on a determined expression. "All the same, Sapphire... you shouldn't be here...", he begins, but I don't let him finish. "Why not?", I demand angrily, "Where else should I be? I am Mer, Faro. Human, yes, but also Mer. Just as Ingo is _your_ place in both danger and safety, so it is mine. So it is my home." Faro looks a bit startled at my outburst, and something inside me softens. "I know you're worried about me, and you don't want me to be in danger", I continue, "But all the same, you don't have any right to try to keep me away from here. I'm a part of Ingo now, you know that. And besides, I can't leave you to get caught up in all these plans by yourself, can I?"

Faro smiles weakly at my caustic attempt at humor. Through the storm of fear and uncertainty in my mind, another feeling shines through like the sun breaking through a cloud covered sky. _I can't leave him anyways..._ Love for Faro fills up my heart, almost crowding out the shadowy news that I recently discovered. I realize that I've subconciously moved closer to him, so close that our hair tangles as it copies the sea's movements. He's looking at me intensely, and with the strangest expression; just when I think that... well, _something_ is going to happen, he pulls back, away from me. Quietly, he says: "I understand that, Sapphire. But all the same... you should go back to the Air now. I have a bad feeling about you being here." As if to emphasize what he's saying, Faro looks nervously over his shoulder.

I bow my head, all the difficulties flooding back into my mind as the spell that held our bodies so close to each other is broken. _Don't be such a coward, Sapphire Trewhella. Your place is here in Ingo, doing what you can to help... whatever that might be. Faro is trying to protect you, but now is not the time for that... don't listen to him..._ and then, I realize something else. _Conor... I should tell him what's going on_. Never in my life have I kept a secret from my brother, at least not such an important one. And he'd probably know more about what to do than I...

Everything seems so... _surreal_ that I don't even know if I'm awake or asleep. I turn back to Faro, who seems to be on edge now. "All right", I concede, "But I _am_ coming back." Faro nods, seeming rather bullied into the agreement. You can tell that he's thinking about the present situation again. Now he looks angry, too, as well as pained. He frowns in his old expression of contempt and revulsion. Perhaps he himself is finding all this hard to believe; perhaps he's still in the shock that consumed me only breifly.

Reaching out to touch my face, Faro lets his fingers linger there breifly, and then turns away again. "In that case, you'd better go... goodbye, _kerensa_." With these words, Faro turns and dives deeper into the water; gone in a matter of seconds.

_Kerensa..._  
_

Opening the gate, I see that both Mum _and_ Roger are here. _Great, that's just what I need_. As I enter the front door, I hear their voices in the kitchen. Sneaking by cautiously, I make for the stairs and the safety of my room. Before I can reach it, however, Mum comes up behind me, frowning.

"Were you down at the cove, Sapphy?", she asks, absently drying her hands on a dish towel. I nod. Mum nods. We stare at each other for a minute, and I turn away to go up to my room. Mum stops me again, however: "Are you okay?" She sounds anxious...

"Yes, why?"

"You seem kind of pale... maybe you're coming down with something. At least the saltwater is good for your sinuses; clears them up."

I roll my eyes. "_Mum_, I'm fine. Just a little tired, that's all... anyways, is Conor here?", I say, anxious to tell my brother what's happened... and still happening. Mum says that no, he's gone somewhere. I would ask her when he'd be back, but I just don't have the energy right now.  
_

"_Saaapph..."_, Conor complains as I brutally drag him into my room and make him sit down. "What's all that about? You barely let me take my shoes off." I shut the door, then turn to face him, hands on my hips, trying to look as serious as possible. He just glares at me.

"Conor. _Listen_. It's important", he rolls his eyes, but I ignore him, "Something's going on in Ingo."

I tell him everything that happened, from the dream to seeing Faro today, leaving out only that Faro could reach my thoughts when I was in the Air. As soon as I start talking, Conor's annoyed expression leaves his face, and he listens intently. When I finish, leaning back into my desk chair, I can almost see his brain thinking, wondering how this could be possible. He looks outraged, reminding me of Faro.

"I just can't believe this", he mutters. I sigh and rest my head on my hands. Each time I go over it; with each retelling it appalls me more and more that the Mer would do such a thing to each other... it goes against all their laws... how could they?

Conor shakes his head slowly, and expression of shock and horror on his face. "All I know, Saph", he says slowly, "is that they don't care if their breaking all the laws of the Mer. It seems ingrained in their culture. Their gonna keep going; knock down all the other Mer like they're nothing but ninepins."

**That's all for now! Hope everybody enjoys this, and please, I need feedback! Please review!  
~ xoxo whoshallJudgeAngels**


	6. Still No Answers

**"This is it, boys, this is war! What are we waiting for?" ~**_**Some Nights**_**  
I guess the cannibals want war... I don't know. Forget it. It's not entirely appropriate, and I shouldn't turn this into a songfic XD  
Profuse thanks to all reviewers! :DDDD [calling all reviewers! *headsmack*] :S  
DISCLAIMER: **_**Ingo**_** = (hopefully) real + awesome + Helen Dunmore's + NOT mine.**

Faro's POV~

As I turn tail and leave Sapphire, I can't help worrying that she will go deeper into Ingo without telling me, to find out more of what's going on. _She's so brave..._ I give a mental sigh and stretch my thoughts until I find her thoughts. Carefully guarding my own mind, I enter hers and remain with her until I can be sure that she is back in the Air. I do not want her to be in any more danger, but, as she said, I cannot keep her out of it; I cannot detain her from her battles.

I think about what she asked me: what was to be done? I told her that no one really knows. The thing was, I had asked Saldowr that same question when Thurina died. He had said that we had to wait and see; some wanted to fight, but Saldowr said that fighting would solve nothing, that we'd only get into a war, and the healing of Ingo would take much longer. Maybe it would never happen. He said that if a fight was what_ they _wanted, then that was the last thing we should give them.

For the first time, I was glad that my sister left for the North; she's safely out of danger there. We all must be more careful, travelling in numbers. I feel that it is cowardice to do nothing; not protection, understand, but _not fighting back_. Saldowr told me that courage does not always come in the form of reckless bloodshed, but we cannot let ourselves be killed, manipulated by our (estranged) brothers and sisters.

Even as pain sears through me; as horror engulfs my mind I know that Saldowr is correct. In what way would we solve anything?

Perhaps it's better to just give up.  
_

That night, I have trouble going to sleep; the only slumber I manage to catch is troubled by dreams. In one, I see Sapphire, what remains of her, being torn at by the teeth of the cannibals. Her screams; the blood is so _real_ that I wake up with my heart pounding, ready and alert, and then remember that Sapphire is safe in the human world. For now.

I swim off into the dark water, catching a slow current south that I know will take me to what Sapphire and Conor call the Bawns. Once there, I see the shadowy forms of the guardian seals, patrolling; always swimming, back and forth, back and forth, ready for whatever threat may come. I salute them as I pass, palms up to show that I do not mean to come any closer.

Passing Limina by, I stop swimming when I come to the cove that I have swum to with Sapphire several times. Floating still in the water, I let my thoughts drift away. _So soon... more trouble has come just when we all thought the healing of Ingo was close at hand._

_ There has to be something that we can do..._

_ Brothers... sisters... these are not... not like us..._

_ They shed our blood willingly... should we not shed theirs?_

Thoughts that should not be in my head, at least not at the moment, are also regardlessly present. Feelings I have been denying for months are rising up inside of me; washing down my heart as if they sensed that I was conflicted at the moment and were taking good advantage of it. However, the former thoughts served as a sobering reminder, not letting my mind take me into fantasy towards a- erm, _sensitive_ direction.

Try as I might, the only coherent knowledge that my thoughts will form is the memory of Sapphire, floating close to me, as if some invisible force was drawing us together, willing me to slip my arms around her and pull her into me. I feel like the most perfect kind of coward at the moment: thinking about love over recent problems, too afraid of what should take no courage at all, and not being able to focus on a way to help his people... only wondering what it would be like if Sapphire knew how I felt; my only desire being desire itself: wanting, _needing_ to touch her, kiss her, feel her both on and underneath my skin.

_Faro! This is not important! THE MER ARE DYING. YOUR PEOPLE ARE UNDER ASSAULT._

_ Sapphire..._

What is the matter with me? My "only desire" should be to help my people, to try and find a remedy for the evil that is now upon us; or if not, to fight for Ingo until the last drop of blood has left my body.

_ Sapphire... Sapphire..._

I grunt, rather disgusted with myself, and _force_ myself to focus on what matters.

Saldowr told me that certain men among these cannibals are fighting for leadership, one that not even the Guardian of the Tide Knot could have. _They will break all our laws even further... or perhaps they don't care. They are nothing but lawless, outcast cannibals that came out of nowhere to trouble us, and to trouble Ingo herself. This is not an isolated incedent._

I think of how easy life was a few days ago, before bloodshed returned to our waters; before Ingo would once again be polluted, not with human dirt, but with the greed and insanity that seemed to be quite prevalent lately, even among those who used to be the _neshevyn lowenna_.

Maelbron's POV~

My mind is fuzzing out. They've done it. Some of my friends, along with several older men, have killed both Arcvand and Fenstral. I feel no sadness; nobody does. Their death has given us life... and another leader the chance to rise up and lead us to the waters where we can prey on other Mer eternally; the one place in the world that we who were banished by Supraeyl, the First Guardian, can go and live in peace.

Where we already are.

I cannot think too much now; bloodlust clouds my mind as I chew on a peice of flesh that I am almost certain came from Fenstral's back. Around us, the water is stained red with the blood of the slaughtered. "Don't stuff your face, Cannarat!", Mother reproves my little brother fiercely, as he chomps down with vicious hunger.

Despite myself, I smile.

Faro's POV~

I am feeling restless now, and I catch a fast, cold current going back up northwards. All thoughts fall away for a few breif minutes as exhilaration courses through me. Just when a new optimism begins opening within me, induced by the never-old current hopping, I see what starts the whole mess that follows this night.

Brushing past my skin inside the current are small streams of red.

Is not blood red?

**All for now! I tried to incorporate the cliff-hanger-ending nicely, and some romantic thoughts of Sapphire XD. The story that is developing in my head is taking quite and unexpected turn now... I can't wait to see it all come together! I hope y'all can't, either... please review!  
~ whoshallJudgeAngels xoxoxo**


	7. The Feast Is Over

**Here is the **_**septimus capitulum**_**. Thanks for all response!  
DISCLAIMER: **_**Ingo **_**isn't mine :P**

Sapphire's POV~

"... just knock them down like they're nothing but ninepins", Conor finishes bitterly. I shudder again. My brain feels blank, as if this incedent has knocked out all reason I might be capable of right now. "We have to do something!", I say with sudden conviction. When I was thinking, Conor was taking the liberty to allow himself a gigantic stretch. As I say this, he snaps back straight and looks at me with a bit of hostility. "We can't just let them...", my voice tails off, and my brother seizes the chance to voice _his_ opinion.

"Listen, Saph. This is bad, _very_ bad, and I feel really sorry for the Mer, but I'm going to feel even sorrier if something happens to you. _N-o_. Don't you understand? Sometimes we have to let things go. This is not our battle. It's nothing to do with us", Conor sighs heavily, then continues, "You've come to close to dying, Saph, and too many times. I've _seen_ what can happen... and so have you, right? There's nothing we can do; I'm not letting you die on this crazy attempt."

I cannot believe what I am hearing. I straighten myself to full height and look Conor in the eye. "I think it's _you_ who doesn't understand, Conor. How can you say that? We can do something, I know we can; not by ourselves, but we can. You just don't care, do you? Just like Faro, you want me to stay out of this, to stay safe. But guess what? You're not getting your way this time. I am going", with these words I turn on my heel and stalk out of the house, concious that my brother has given in and is following me.  
_

I wish that I could rest easy... that I could once again know that Ingo is continuing to heal... there are not any problems amongst the Mer, leaving Ingo untroubled... but most of all, I wish that Faro could be at my side, one arm slung around my waist, and I could rest my head against his warm brown shoulder... _I hope he's safe..._

Faro's POV~

_Hmm... strange... where's this coming from?_ I swerve sideways, fighting out of the current's heart and looking around me quickly. _There..._

Not far off, a red stain spreads through the water, dispersing as it gets closer to the current. It seems that the water is bringing it from... _eastwards..._ hm.

What diabolical thing could be ensuing now?  
_

As I swim east, I see more blood flowing through the water towards me. I can only begin to guess what's happening... _they have killed children, elderly, and perhaps even their own people..._ I suppress a shudder as I swim on, searching for the source of the blood.

For a brief instant, I find myself wishing that Sapphire was here. _No..._ it's much better that she's safe. _How can I be so stupidly selfish?_ _Oh... not again..._ I think I am seriously not using my head.

I smell something now, through the water. A sickly sweet, mineral smell. _Blood._ I must be getting close. Perhaps if I can get withing hearing distance without being seen... I'll have to be careful, though. Being eaten by other Mer doesn't really seem like a pleasant way to end one's days.

In a underwater cove that I have seen before (but rarely explored), is the source of the bloody stain spreading through Ingo, polluting her with the blood of our people. Pressing myself flat against a spur of coral, I carefully glace back and over the rock.

Two mangled carcasses float in the water, surrounded by forty or so Mer men, women, and children. Through the mass of their bodies, I see the faces of the two dead men, which are relatively untouched in comparison with the rest of their bodies. _It seems as if these cannibals _are_ killing each other off... just as Saldowr predicted._ A small smile curls my lips as I consider what would happen if they fell to squabbling amongst themselves. _We wouldn't have any problems, then._ _Or, not many_, I add to myself, rather pessemisticly.

I see the slaughter going on amid much rejoicing from these lawless cannibals, and feel nothing; no sadness or pity, only disgust.

But at that moment, something else comes into my mind. A voice. _Faro? Did I reach you?_

For a minute, I curse the mental connection between me and Sapphire. _Please don't let her find me..._

_Sapphire,_ I reply urgently, _where are you? _

_ Uh... _

Stubborn... I press myself flatter against the rock, thinking that now would not really be a good time to be seen... _WHERE ARE YOU?_

_ Heading your way. _

Oh, no. Nononononono. A jolt of fear runs through me.

_Faro?_

_ Sapphire. Are you alone?_

_ No... Conor's with me. We found a fast current heading north. Did you see that red stain coming in on the tide? _

_ Yes... Sapphire listen. Pull out of the current RIGHT NOW. Do you hear me, Sapphire. NOW._

_ Okay... we did. Listen, Faro. Why are you so on edge? I feel your fear, so don't try to hide it from me. What's going on?_

_ I found them._

_ Them? You mean the cannibals? Faro don't let them see you! They'll kill you! Please, get-_

_ Sapphire, _I cut across her worried speech, all the while looking back at the sanguine feast and trying to get in a position that I can swim away without being seen._ Sapphire, listen to me. Send me a stream of thoughts; I'm going to find you. Just, stay where you are..._

_ Okay... but be careful... please be careful..._

Her thoughts are rather desperate as I inch inside towards the land mass. I can swim along there and then turn back up northwest. _Faro... don't let them see you... please... _I can tell that Sapphire might well be tearful, or at the very least terrified. Swimming carefully, glancing back and attempting to conceal myself behind weeds and coral, I sense something else under her erratic concern for me. A strong emotion that has a pulsing feel to it. One that I myself often feel when I think of her. Despite my situation, I smile. _Perhaps she's been waiting for me all along_.

_What?_

Darn. _Nothing, Sapphire..._

My heart pounds halfway up my throat as a furtive backwards glance leads me to see one of the cannibals looking out into the water, towards my direction. I slip behind a clump of oarweed and try to calm down. My pulse more or less settles when the cannibal looks calmly back to... ugh. Tearing a chunk of meat off the older of the two men. I shudder with revulsion, though I feel no pity for the dead cannibals.

_They killed their own kind?_, Sapphire is incredulous.

I, however, am on edge now. _Yes. I'll tell you when I get to you._  
_

Seeing her again, however, was the real challenge for me. As soon as I got close enough, Sapphire powered her way through the water and stopped about an arm's length from me. Her eyes- _beautifully dark... so expressive... shut up, mind!- _are filled with relief... and something else that I would like to guess at. The next minute, her arms are around me and her nose is crushed against my chest. I hug back hard, my fingers tangling in her hair.

A sort of throat-clearing noise comes from behind Sapphire, and I realized Conor might not like the fact that mouth had somehow begun caressing his sister's forehead... Sapphire lets go of me, once again serious (and a bit flustered). "You said they were killing their own kind?", she asks, half-whispering. Conor is still glaring at me, but I ignore him and nod. "Yes. They have slaughtered two men, but I could not get close enough to hear any conversation..."

"You mean that you saw them _eating_ these two other Mer?", Conor asks. I nod again, noting that Conor looked rather nauseated at my affirmation.

"What're you going to do?", Sapphire asks worriedly, "You're not going _back_, are you?"

"Not now that you're here", I mutter under my breath, and then say, "Tell Saldowr what has happened."

"Can we come?"

"Did I say you couldn't?"

Maelbron's POV~

"Now is the time to strike!", bellows Mortvys, "Fenstral and Arcvand cannot hold us back any longer!" A cheer rises from every throat, including mine.

"We shall take back the power that Supraeyl denied out ancestors, and rid Ingo of the impurities of those Mer who are not like us! We will watch over the Tide Knot, as we once could! We shall build a strong, plentiful dwelling place where we can live forever!" More and more we are nodding in assent. As one.

The feast is over; battle has begun.

**Olle, delinquente! Dime lo que crees de este capitulo! *ahem* My Cuban blood is becoming too prominent XD. That basically means: Tell me what you think about this chapter! Any suggestions for conflict? Or romance? Or just no suggestions, but merely an opinion? PLEASE TELL ME!  
~ xoxo whoshallJudgeAngels**


	8. The Ablution

**Well, yes, I am basically back. After a while I decided that the ending I tacked on to this story really wasn't so hot, and most of you readers were bitterly disappointed... so I am bringing **_**Blood From the East **_**back! Just continuing from the previous chapter...  
DISCLAIMER: **_**Sapphire**_**: "How big is Ingo, anyways?" **_**Faro**_**: "Ingo is as it is. You must speak to Saldowr." Anyways it's too big for me to own.**

Sapphire's POV~

Saldowr turns to face is in a swirl of cloak. We are just inside the Groves of Aleph; above us, the sharks keep up the rhythm of their patrol.

"You say they seemed to have killed two of their own?" Saldowr asks, his brows drawing together. Faro nods, looking strangely like someone in the Air who's out of breath. Saldowr looks down for a moment, as if unsure, then his glance travels back up at the sharks.

"They will be working themselves into a frenzy. Likely the two they have devoured were their leaders, and they have a new one, urging them to dare to take more of our people as humans do calves to the slaughter," here Saldowr looks pointedly at me, and I feel an unexplained chill run down my spine. Could these cannibals really be planning a bigger killing?

Faro speaks up: "There were only about twoscore of them in all, children included..." Saldowr cuts him off.

"The size of their army does not matter, my son. Even a small creature may defeat a large one. They are not stupid, regardless how much their minds have been clouded and defiled by bloodlust. My point is that they may try to overtake _all_ in these waters, believing it is rightfully theirs. If they do... well, they cannot get at the Tide Knot - the Groves are safe -," here Saldowr glances at the sharks again, "but the rest of the Mer are not." It just bothers me that he states this as an inevitable fact.

"But," Saldowr continues, "there may be a way to ensure some form of security." He pauses. I roll my eyes, not out of disrespect, but I just wish he'd get _on_ with it... Faro and Conor are also looking marginally impatient, though my brother seems to be in a period of deep thought.

Without further explanation, Saldowr dives back towards his cave, motioning for us to stay where we are. Faro frowns. Though I, too, am preoccupied with worry (yes, and fear...), and completely nonplussed at Saldowr's strange behavior, I reach over and take Faro's hand. Our _deubleks_ touch. At this, he smiles and shoots me a brief, sideways glance. Conor doesn't bother to notice anything except the sharks, which he is now constantly staring at.

At that moment, Saldowr returns, holding a ginormous conch shell. It is very lustrous, dark at the tip and swirling out to a pearly white color at the base. Faro immediately gasps, dropping my hand.

"But - but, Saldowr... isn't that... isn't that for the Call? For the Crossing?" I feel my own eyes widen.

"Yes, Faro. It is."

"Then how..."

"The Mer will all hear it, and they will know that it is not the call for the Crossing, not a call for adventure. This conch can sometimes be sounded for other purposes... like immediate danger," Saldowr explains all this as if it were the most boring, obvious thing in the entire universe. Faro continues to blink at the conch and shake his head in disbelief. A brief flash of anger courses through me. Faro can be so irritating sometimes. Doesn't he trust that Saldowr knows what he's doing?

For the first time since we entered the Groves of Aleph, Conor speaks: "But, Saldowr? Can't the sharks be... used? Would they help defend the Mer against these - these cannibals?" For some reason, this does not sound like my brother speaking. His tone is so... hateful... But then again, shouldn't it be? We are part of the Mer, too.

It dawns on me now. We left home without anything. Without saying goodbye to Mum and Roger (other than a quick "We're going out for a bit...") and to Sadie. Without saying goodbye to Rainbow. We could be killed here, and eaten, along with the rest of the Mer. As Faro says, by twoscore... creatures with serious moral mutations. Perhaps Conor has a point. Perhaps those who kill and devour others' blood should also have their blood devoured.

Saldowr, however, has other ideas. "That cannot be, Conor. Do you remember how Ervys twisted the minds of the sharks and used them for his benefit? Do you remember that I had to hold them back, and that they had to remember their duty? Now, however, they will not do anything other than their duty - which is to protect the Groves and what lies within - and even if I can lead them to slaughter the cannibals... well, that would be the same thing Ervys did."

"But it's for the protection of the Mer!" I never imagined Conor would try to argue his point with Saldowr.

"And Ervys said it was for the protection of Ingo. No. I'm sorry, Conor, it is a brave plan, but would not be the correct thing to do at the moment, regardless of the circumstances. And the Mer are not helpless," Saldowr smiles gently at Conor, showing he holds no great anger against his suggestion.

My brother, however, nods slowly, then hangs his head, not looking at Saldowr. Poor Conor. His face is in flames. I know he was just trying to find a solution to this awful situation. Faro is scanning my brother up and down out of the corner of his eye with an expression that looks suspiciously like... _hate?_ No, that can't be. Faro couldn't just all of a sudden despise Conor so much. I mean, they've never really been best friends or anything, but still... I push this out of my mind. _Sapphire, that's not what is important now. What's important now is focusing on what is happening with these cannibals, and doing all you can to help the Mer._

And then I don't have much more time to think, because Saldowr is lifting the conch to his face. He puts the tip to his lips and blows, so hard that his cheeks puff out. I can't hear anything at first, but sound slowly reaches my ears. The hairs on my arms stand on end.

The water vibrates a furious warning, as harsh and blaring as any siren.

Maelbron's POV~

I hear it. We all hear it. The sound of a conch, being blown from somewhere beyond the currents. We all hear it, and stop where we are. But the sound, the music of the conch, it goes into my body, in through my ears, and suddenly it feels as if there is an army of tridents inside of me, destroying every part of me. Beside me, I see a friend's face clench in pain. A sudden spasm strikes my middle, and I double over at it's command. As I do so, a knife slashes down my spine. Someone screams, and I hear several small children whimpering.

As suddenly as it came, the music stops. The ringing in my ears goes away. I slowly straighten, while all around me, people are nursing still-aching body parts, and mothers are frantically searching over their terrified children.

I look over at our leader. Mortvys frowns and sniffs the water.

**Well, that was that. I PROMISE that I will not kill the story again this time; I won't update at all if it means doing it badly just to get it over. And, er... do you guys remember how to do that highly pleasant and gentlemanly (or gentlewomanly) thing about literary feedback? I think it's called... reveiwing? Yep. That's it. Please review!  
~ xoxo whoshallJudgeAngels**


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